What The Celtics Managed To Do To The Kings Last Night Was Utterly Ridiculous

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

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OK nice, so this wasn't all a dream. Very cool. You can imagine why someone who has watched every second of this team so far this season might think that a 53 point win is either a dream, or you playing 2K on rookie mode or something. Still makes me chuckle a little bit this morning to think this was actually something that really happened. I know blowouts happen all the time, but this wasn't exactly normal. If not for this missed three

We would have seen the Celts tie their largest margin of victory in the entire history of their franchise. Sadly, we had to settle for the 2nd largest win, although it was the largest home win ever. As a big time sucker for history, it's a moment I'll remember for the rest of the day until we turn the page and move on to more important things. Because make no mistake about it, the important part of last night wasn't that they beat an NBA team by 53 points. It didn't absolve all their issues, or suddenly mean this team is now poised to make the Finals. I'm also not sure a single person said that last night. It's OK to enjoy when your favorite basketball team wins by 53 fucking points. It's almost as if there are some out there that think a single win will make the Celts like 6 games over .500 or something. It's OK to be happy when they play well just like we'll all be frustrated and pissed off when they play like shit, which they will. That's sort of how this all works, at least for me.

This still team has a giant hole they need to climb out of. They're yet to show us any sort of consistent level of winning. That's all true and will be until they prove us otherwise. But it's also true a night like last night was a whole lot of fun for a team and a fanbase that desperately needed something that wasn't immense pain. So let's talk about it

The Good

- Now this was tough. Where do you start and award the top spot in a game where pretty much everyone who stepped foot on the court was awesome? It's not an easy job, but a time like this, you don't have to overthink it. You go with your gut. 

We talk a lot about how when it comes to the success of this team, it basically boils down to what Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will do. If they are locked in, look out. If they can't make a shot to save their lives, things are going to get ugly. But when Jayson Tatum is locked in like he has been these last two games? He becomes a terrifying force. 

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36/4/6 in 31 minutes on 14-23 (7-14) and just 2 TOs, make no mistake about it if Tatum plays in that fourth quarter, he gets back to back 50 bombs given the way he was shooting the basketball. After his 0-20 stretch from three, he is now 16-28 (57%) over his last two games. What a difference it makes when Tatum is actually making his threes, who knew! And yes, while 14 of his 23 FGA were threes which can always get dicey, everything else Tatum did was at the rim

which is exactly what you want to see against a team that really didn't have any sort of rim protection. There's been a noticeable difference in Tatum's offensive approach these last few games, and he shed some insight on that after the game

I'd say that's exactly what he's done. His three point shot is back, but he did not abandon attacking the rim and using his size and strength to get high percentage looks. But when you evaluate Tatum's night, it's about more than just his shooting. His passing was incredible. I still struggle with the idea that people watch Tatum pass and then go on to say things like "he doesn't make his teammates better" or he's a "selfish" player. It feels like we are watching two completely different players. Tatum can't throw the pass and make the shot at the same time. Last night was a great example of even on a night where he had it going offensively, he still was committed to making the right plays and finding his teammates. To finish with just 2 TOs as well, I mean this was as close to peak Tatum as you're going to see. Add in his defense which was solid all night, it sure does look like he's starting to find his usual January/February groove.

- And then there was Jaylen. He got things started off by outscoring the entire Kings team by himself in the first quarter, and he too never looked back

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You want to talk about Tatum's approach? You have to say the same thing about Jaylen. It was about as ideal as you could ask for

30/10/3 on 11-19 (5-12) with 0 TOs for Jaylen in his 23 minutes, and this is what that looked like

I'm not sure that green dot on the left hashmark from deep does that shot justice. He took that from about 35 feet. One thing that has stood out to me is Jaylen's range this season. He looks so much more comfortable (and productive) from 25-29ft this year. In fact, he's 62-176 from that distance this year (35.2%). He's 36-90 (40%) on 24ft and under threes. The confidence in which Jaylen is shooting the ball from deep at this stage of his career just speaks to his development in that area. I feel just as confident with Jaylen pulling up from 30ft as I do anyone else on this team. That's a crazy place to be given where we started back in 2016. 

- Now that he has a full deck of cards, it's been interesting to see how Ime is handling his rotations. He's made it clear that while he may start double bigs, the plan is then to stagger Al and Rob and use Grant as the 3rd big. Enes has basically been removed from the rotation. With Smart/Dennis, unless someone is in foul trouble, they are not sharing the floor together. We only saw Smart/Dennis in the same lineup for 1 total minute yesterday and it came in the 2nd quarter. 

There has definitely been shit that Ime definitely deserves criticism for, but if this change is here to stay it should also be acknowledged that he's figured out things had to change in that area. Now granted rotation decisions aren't all that tough in a game you are dominating, but part of the reason the Celts were in that position in the first place is because it seems like Ime has figured out a rotation that works.

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- It's becoming harder and harder to come up with different ways of saying how much I love Robert Williams and his growth as a player. Every game he does insanely cool shit, and last night was no exception

At just 23 years old, Rob is blossoming exactly how we all hoped. He's stayed healthy for the most part, his body has been able to handle the drastic increase in minutes, and everything just looks so much better on either end when he's on the floor. The lobs and the putbacks are great, the blocks are what give us life, but when you watch Rob play you see that his impact is much more than just blocking shots. He's reached the point where he's able to impact shots without blocking. Guys know he's somewhere around the rim lurking, and it fucks them up. Take last night for example. The stat sheet shows that Rob finished with 2 blocks. Pretty standard. But his defensive impact was so much more than that. Rob was 2nd on the team with 9 contested shots. He was everywhere. 

What we're seeing with Rob is what you see with the elite shot blockers in the league. They are able to impact plays at the rim even without blocking the shots. It's what you see with the Gobert's or Capela's or Embiid's of the world. Interior defense isn't just about the blocks, it's about being such a force that guys start to second guess themselves the second they enter the paint. That is happening more and more with Rob. Opponents are now shooting just 41.6% from the floor when being defended by Rob. Pretty good!

- If you are someone who is still trying to hold onto this idea that Marcus Smart does not make a positive impact on this team, you are simply refusing to acknowledge what is right in front of your face. It's that simple. Just look at how different the team looks these last two games. Everything is sharper offensively, they are playing with a much better pace, defensively they've been absolutely fucking nails. Sure the numbers back this up, he's a +60 over the last two games, the list goes on and on. But I know people who are anti-Smart don't care about the actual production, so just use your eyeballs.

Does the opponent matter? Of course, to some degree. But we've also seen him play in wins against really good teams. Last night was the perfect example of Smart once again accepting his role. In a game they won by 50, he took 3 shots. He finished with 7 assists and was a +36 in his 23 minutes. Defensively, he matched up with Tyrese Haliburton on 24 possessions and held him to 0 points. Zero. As in, not a single point. 

And yet, there are still people who want him traded or don't think he's a valuable piece of the puzzle. It's bizarro world stuff that at this point is just sad.

- Last night marked the 14th game the Celtics were able to start their normal starting 5. This is how that group has done on the season

Record: 9-5

14 games / 174 minutes / 113.2 Ortg / 91.3 Drtg / +21.9 net rating / 61.9% AST%

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This is why there are some like myself that are so stubborn about this core/roster. When they have their guys, they are as good as anyone. Period. That doesn't mean they can't also look like the worst basketball team on the planet, but it shows what their ceiling can be. This isn't just good in terms of the Celts lineup options, it's legit no matter what lineup you want to use in the entire league

The +21.9 net rating of that starting five is the 2nd highest in the league of any combination that has played at least 150 minutes together so far this season. They are objectively good. Winning at a 52 win pace, and the advanced metrics are near the top of the league. What more do people need to see? Yes, the Celtics are 25-24, that's bad. But that record is not exactly due to the performance of their intended starting five. That group dominates. Not just the Kings, but basically everyone they have played against. 

It's why things have been so frustrating at times. If this team could finally be like all the others in the East (minus MIA, they've been insane) and have any sort of legit stretch with their main guys, things will look better. They are showing us what that looks like. Those pieces fit together whether you want to look at the record or the production. That's the reality.

- Shoutout Aaron Nesmith for making the most of his minutes. I swear he continues to give us flashes that give you pause

Pritchard was solid too off the bench once Ime went with his "showcase" lineup, and while I think many were wondering why they didn't play more in a 53 point win, I have a theory. I think part of Ime wanted to have his main guys continue to see the ball go in. Especially Tatum. They need that momentum to keep on rolling. They say the entire fourth, which is fine by me. Ime gave the kids the entire fourth to get some reps/good tape out there and they responded. Hard not to like what we saw from all of em.

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- Let's not ignore the fact that Tatum and Brown nearly outscored an entire team by themselves. 75-66 is pretty insane. 

- 0 ties, 0 lead changes, largest lead was 60 points. That feels like a video game. 

The Bad

- I don't want to nitpick, but it's not like the Celts were without some bad things despite the score. For starters, Al went 1-9 and ha just 3 points so that wasn't all that great. Despite showing some signs of breaking out of his brutal slump, I wouldn't say he's there yet. It didn't matter last night, but it does matter moving forward and when you look at the bigger picture. He can't continue to be such a negative as a shooter. They have to find ways to get him easy looks around the rim because right now his jumper can't exactly be relied on.

- Same struggles for Dennis with his 1-5 in his 16 minutes. He finished with just 2 points and 2 assists, so I wouldn't exactly say it was his best performance. Again, like Al it didn't really matter in this game, but it still wasn't all that good.

- I know last night was exciting, but I urge you to keep perspective. While the Celts were nails defensively, a bad team in the Kings had a horrific off night. That happens, shit the Celts have experienced games just like this in terms of shooting. I mean 6-33 from three is the Celtics specialty. So I would mostly put a night like that night as the exception, not the norm. As long as you realize that, I think it's OK to enjoy what we saw.

But don't let this one game convince you that there isn't still a ton this team needs to improve upon. Take the prayer 53 point win and move on. Enjoy it today, forget about it tomorrow.

The Ugly

- Ok, new rule, if the Celts win by 53 points we can avoid this section. I mean what would you even put here? The Celts even converted on multiple fastbreaks! Ime's rotations were fine! OK, maybe you put Kanters 4th quarter in here? He did nothing but turn it over. That wasn't great. But whatever, no point in forcing this section. I feel confident the Celts will give us plenty of material for this section the next time they step on the floor.

All in all, I can confirm that 53 point wins are fun as hell to experience. Who knows when we'll see it again, so appreciate it. But what I care more about is what happens next. Wins like this are great, but mean jack shit if you go back to your bad habits and wake up 3 games under .500 again. This team needs to start building. They need to show that the improvement of this team is more than just the result of playing the Kings. Do that, and we'll all feel a whole lot better. There's just no way any of us can say with certainty that it will happen. That is the next hurdle they need to overcome, but if healthy I like their chances.